When my husband & I decided to try for
a baby, things couldn't have been
easier or more uneventful... and
within 2 months of our decsion I found
out I was pregnant. Our due date was
April 29, 2002 - the birthdate of my
dear friend who we immediately asked
to be the beby's godparent.
I was 31 years old at the time. This
was my fist pregnancy. I had no
health or chronic medical issues
beyond mild and coltrolled asthma. My
weight was fine. My diet was good. I
didn't exercise as often as i should -
but who does? Oh - I had uterine
surgery in 1999 - a myomectomy for a
fibroid that measured the size of a
softball and weighed close to 2 lbs -
a full C-section cut. And 8 years
earlier had LEEP due to warts (
courtesy of an EX-fiance and his
wandering.) Fortunately they never
returned ( nor did he! )
I worked full time, as a technology
trainer and database consultant for an
accounting firm - a desk job where the
most physically strenous thing I did
was walk to the coffee machine or open
a compueter manual. I travelled up to
the week before our "event."
While this was uneventful, it wasn't
comfortable. I had miserable morning
sickness through 20 weeks. I
discovered I have a tilted uterus -
not problematic for conception or
delivery, but the fetus was leaning on
my sciatic nerve, causing back pain
and occasional numbness in my legs. I
had a lot of "round ligiment
stretching pain." I STILL don't
believe that is all it was, but absent
any other symptoms or trouble, that is
waht I was told...!
I had a few days of braxton-hicks type
contractions - never lasting more than
2 or 3 seconds at a time, where it
felt like someone was pulling my belly-
button back into my body from the
inside - not painful, but an annoying
tugging feeling. My OB told me it was
entirely possible that the baby ( at
22 weeks ) was PLAYING with the cord
and that is what I felt.
Well, then the b-h got more frequent
and the baby was wigglign less. My OB
said I was probably just tired and
dehydrated. So I went to bed earlier
and I drowned myslef in fluids.
This went on for a few more days.
then one afternoon at work I started
to feel "funny." I chalked it up to
being tired. Then, on the commute
home ( I worked in downtown DC and
live out in the burbs at the end of
the metro line ) while in the train,
underground, I suddenly started h
aving contractions. Not slowly - all
at once it went from painless b-h of a
few seconds to 30 second long, double-
me-over pain 4 minutes apart. I MUST
have looked bad because someone
actually GAVE UP A SEAT FOR ME on the
metro in rush hour. There was nothing
we ( I coummted with my DH who worked
7 blocks from me )could do while in
the tunnel. When we came above
ground, where there is reception I
called my OB who said I sounded
dehydrated - to go immeidatley home,
lay down, elevate my feet, and drink
more.
So I did. Of course, being 23wk and a
few days pg, you chug 32oz of juice
and IMMEDIATLEY have to pee ;-) but
when I went I saw I was bleeding. We
called my OB from the car on the way
to the ER who agreed thtat was wise.
We literally got into the triage room
in time for my water to break - well,
BURST, really - and for the ER doc and
my OB to frown and say " we can see
the crown. Thgis has to be
stopped."
We panicked, of course, as I was
rushed to the antepartum wing, put on
Magnesium Sulfate, IV fluids, IV
antibiotics, steriod shots, Lasic (
for fluid retention ) and oxygen - by
now I was so upset my asthma was
acting up. The docs inserted a
catheter and told me I was in bed as
long as they could hold off delivery -
no showers, no bathroom - nothing... I
was put in the "Trandellenberg"
position - with the head of the bed
45 - 50 degrees lower than the foot,
so gravity could assist in keeping the
baby from slipping into the birth
canal.
after 4 days I was taken off the amg
sulf and given a Terbutaline pump. it
seemed to work, for a while, but on
day 13, right after eating dinner, the
contractions ( which had slowed and
dulled, but never really gone away )
returned full force. I rang the call
button for the nurse and when she got
to my room, she could see the baby's
head.
Penelope Joy was delivered 1 hour
later by an emergency C ( I was told
at her size and gestational age she
would never survive a vaginal
delivery - she would have been
lterally crushed during contractions. )
She was given Surfactant ( thank you
March of Dimes for pioneering
this!!! ) and taken to the NICU even
before I could see her. $ hours
later, when the spinal wore off enough
for me to be moved intoa wheelchair, I
got to see her - all 1 lb 10 oz of
her - jaundiced, purple from bruising
( no fluid and almost 2 weeks of
contractions ) covered head to toe in
wires and leads and obscured by the
respirator and eye mask ( to protect
her from the bioli lights and heat
lamp )...
She spent 12 weeks in the local NICU.
She amazed EVERYONE by getting off the
vent after 3 days - though she needed
6 more weeks on a C-Pap machine. She
began taking breawst milk my central
line into her stomach at 5 days old -
.5ml at a feeding. She was tube fed
after that up till 2 weeks before her
discharge. She had a PDA that fianly
repsonded satisfactorilly to the
Inodcin literally the day before we
were due to schedule her heart
surgery. We were told to expect sever
brain bleeds - but she had NONE.
She developed level 4 ROP in both
eyes - and needed surgery at 5 months
to ensure her retinas didn't detatch.
She was in glasses at 2 yrs old, and
wears a patch every day on her
stronger eye to try to force her
weaker one to develop better strength
while she is still young enough for it
to be "tricked" into improving.
She has some lingering sensory issues -
though not severe enough to warrant a
diagnosis of Sensory Integration
Disorder / still she is being observed
every few months by her pediatrician
and a phsychiatrist just in case...
more so if she needs accomodations at
school there is a record than because
they think it will worsen, although
we've been told there is a strong link
between preemies and SID and ADHD, so
we are glad we'r tracking her... She
hates crowds - has almost no natural
sense of phyical boundaries and body
awareness, and does not like to be
unexpectedly touched - particularly
either from her sides where her
peripheral vision is bad, or anywhere
on her face or head. Things like
crowded school playgrounds or sports
like soccer are really toguh for
her.
Otherwise, she is in perfect health
and is a bright, funny, cheerful,
charming, exasperating, energetic
NORMAL 5 year old ;-)
We know we are blessed and lucky to
have her with us, intact and well
now!!!
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